Oh, and did I mention having a full arsenal of historic temperaments at one's disposal? David Love www.davidlovepianos.com (sent from bb) -----Original Message----- From: "David Love" <davidlovepianos at comcast.net> Date: Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:46:17 To: <pianotech at ptg.org> Reply-To: davidlovepianos at comcast.net Subject: Re: [pianotech] Tuning, was advertising I hate it when people offer to "educate" me. But I'll let it go :-). I guess after 35 years I'm way past tuning for fun or the challenge which is not to say that I don't enjoy my work but I'm after efficiency, and accuracy, of course. I pay attention out of commitment to doing good work. Not that I doubt you but a consistent aural pitch raise to within .5 - 1 cent in 25 minutes? I just don't believe it. And if you actually can do that, you're an animal and an exception. A calculated pitch correction with an etd is a 15 minute operation every time and accurate every time with even a modicum of practice and skill. Most mortals cannot approach that and never will with aural methods. I wouldn't at all say that using an etd is rote work or just running numbers. This is what bothers me about your position. You imply that using a device is somehow less, less skill, less craft. Most of the skill and craft is learning how to get to the target and keep it there anyway (lever mechanics). That has little to do with what guides your ears or machine or as is the case with all the etd users that I know, both. I wouldn't get too upset on the hobby comment, it was a personal confession not an accusation. For me this is a business which means that along with doing quality work I want to maximize my efficiency under all circumstances. Aural tunings take longer. You can't do a thorough, high level aural tuning without multiple checks and with an etd many of those checks (not all) are eliminated. When measured over the course of multiple tunings etd use is more efficient or less stressful or both. That means I can either schedule more appointments in a day or I can accomplish more in the same amount of time. I earn more and my customers get more--the best of both worlds. It's a business decision that in no way compromises the art form. As far as challenging environments, I'm beyond enjoying that too. I want quiet, period. And if I don't get it I can deal with it but I don't want it to be the last tuning I feel like doing that day. People are, of course, free to choose how they want to work. The arguments that people use, however, and the sanctimonious position that many take that pure aural tuners reside on some higher plane are unconvincing to me and I say that as someone who has done it both ways and with success. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com (sent from bb) -----Original Message----- From: David Andersen <david at davidandersenpianos.com> Sender: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org Date: Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:46:56 To: <pianotech at ptg.org> Reply-To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: [pianotech] Tuning, was advertising Hi---comments interspersed.... David Love wrote: > And that is exactly what the ETD is, a tool. It doesn’t do the work for you nor does it absolve you of the responsibility of checking your work. Aural skills are still necessary. Absolutely. Agree 100%. > What I don’t understand is why someone would not want one. Allow me to expand your understanding.... > Even if you prefer to tune aurally No question; it's much more challenging and fun for me---both huge personal goals: to have fun and be challenged. Makes me pay much closer attention altogether. > there are so many instances where they are a benefit: quick and accurate pitch raises I can----because I've practiced it with full attention thousands of times---do a 1-mute, open-string aural pitch raise in 20-25 minutes, with the piano settling almost ideally in all sections so I can tune from my favorite platform: .5 to 1 cent flat, and really in tune with itself. > multiple pianos tuned together More than two? Never happened to me in 36 years. > noisy environments Here's where I realize I may have a little quirk. I relish tuning on stage, or at a NAMM show, or a PTG conference. I go into a zone I hardly ever get to any other way---almost a higher degree of focus, and a greater body awareness and trust; like calm in the middle of a battle. Some of my quickest, "solidest," best-sounding tunings have come from this zone. Again, I like the personal challenge, so I'm allowed to do it. It's my business, and my time. <g> > to prevent fatigue in high volume situations. Agree with this. If I needed to tune constantly in loud environments I would gratefully use a machine. > Those who eschew the use of them probably don’t hesitate to use various computer programs for book keeping, the making of forms, scale calculations, etc., when they could certainly do this the old fashioned way, by hand. Difference is, tuning is a huge part of what I consider my art, my craft, my gift. So for me the comparison with running numbers and plugging them in, doing what I consider to be "rote" work, work that is certainly less attractive, important, and challenging to ME personally, has no resonance and makes no sense. For ME. "Every head a planet," as my friend and mentor Gill Melle used to say. > There seems to be a certain stubbornness from the “con” side that baffles me. I'm not "con" until I experience a tuner using the machine for everything, letting it tune. IMO, that atrophies a crucial sensibility and perception that we all need to take our ability to listen to a greater and greater level. > I suppose if I were doing this as a hobby, maybe I’d stick to pure aural tuning, maybe. Careful, now, brother. Retract those claws. This statement is a passive way of calling me an amateur, which I resent. Or diminishing me and my choices as less good than yours. > But since it’s a business and I’m looking for the best use of the available tools to insure under all circumstances that I can produce the tuning that I will feel the most confident about and in a consistent and timely manner And that's a clear statement of how you FEEL the best and the most "of service." That's what YOU need to do, and I applaud that, because I know you're an artisan, and I would never imply otherwise. Please recognize other people who are as dedicated as you, and perhaps as talented as you, may need a slightly different protocol or tool to FEEL the best and most "of service." > (we—most of us—do this for a living, after all), having an ETD in one’s arsenal I consider simply too advantageous to ignore. And here I freely admit to being in a different place than you; we'll collegially agree to disagree, and LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR: I don't give a rat's ass HOW a solid, ringing, custom, musical tuning is accomplished; I just demand and desire that it be so. I give you full permission to use whatever tool you wish. > > > David Love > www.davidlovepianos.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20110127/9fa05a86/attachment.htm>
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